Column: FFXIV - Group Friendly, Elf-less Community?

I’ve been following Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn more closely as we approach the game’s final phase of beta and launch and I recently came upon some interesting poll data results compiled into a handy Google document. While by no means scientific, the poll results of over 16,000 players do paint an interesting picture of what Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn’s community may look like.

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The Gender Gap

I’m not particularly certain this statistic was based on asking users their actual gender or what their character gender will be, but I still found the results (59%M/41%F) interesting. If the results refer to actual player gender, then there are surprisingly more female players than I would have expected for an MMO. Then again, the Final Fantasy IP does tend to have a broader appeal than most video game IP, so that would likely account for the difference.

If the stats refer to character gender, well, I’m a bit less surprised. There are obviously many male players who play female characters, but I feel even more inclined to do this in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. The game’s character creator is quite nice, but I really can’t put together a male character that I like.

A Land of Giants

The poll’s race breakdown data is particularly noteworthy to me. Most MMO players would expect the usual suspects (Humans, Elves, insert diminutive race here) to top the charts, but based off the data we’re seeing expect a whole lot of catgirls and boys – and giants. Lots and lots of giants. Elves (Elezen) make up only a total of 7% of respondents while Miqo’te (cat folk) make up 34% and Roegadyn (giants) come in at 23%. Yes, they even beat out Humans (22%).

Personally, I’m an elf player in most games, but ARR’s gangly, giraffe-necked Elezen just don’t do it for me at all. I’m not sure if other gamers are simply seeing what I’m seeing or people just want to be cats. Probably a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

LFM DPS!

This is where I experienced a double-take. Support jobs are the most popular in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn? What sorcery is this? According to the data, the split is 58/42% in favor of support jobs.

Support

Gladiator/Paladin

2471

15%

Marauder/Warrior

1090

7%

Conjurer/White Mage

2311

14%

Thaumaturge/Black Mage

1114

7%

Arcanist/Scholar

3661

22%

DPS

Pugilist/Monk

1053

6%

Lancer/Dragoon

1506

9%

Archer/Bard

1303

8%

Thaumaturge/Black Mage

1114

7%

Arcanist/Summoner

1948

12%

If this data is to believed, we can look forward to a much more team-oriented community, something I would attribute to the group-focused gameplay of ARR’s predecessor, Final Fantasy XI as well as a similar, but not nearly as strict, group-focus of A Realm Reborn. Still, this is a sixteen point difference, which is quite significant.

I’ve got to say, it’s going to be refreshing not having to worry about finding healers or tanks for group content. With players so enthusiastic about these support roles, grouping with random players may be less of a chore than the “me, me, me” mentality often found in your run-of-the-mill MMO PUG experience.

Then again, I’ll be playing a Dragoon. But how could I not? Dragoon is one of the most iconic Final Fantasy jobs. And I get to jump.

What do you make of the data? And how would you respond to the poll questions? Share with us in the comments below!

Copy and paste for easy formatting:

Gender:

Race:

Server:

Job (DoW):

Crafting (DoH):

Gathering (DoL):

Grand Company:

Playstyle:

Michael Bitton / Michael began his career at the WarCry Network in 2005 as the site manager for several different WarCry fansite portals. In 2008, Michael worked for the startup magazine Massive Gamer as a columnist and online news editor. In June of 2009, Michael joined MMORPG.com as the site's Community Manager. Follow him on Twitter @eMikeB

Michael Bitton / Michael began his career at the WarCry Network in 2005 as the site manager for several different WarCry fansite portals. In 2008, Michael worked for the startup magazine Massive Gamer as a columnist and online news editor. In June of 2009, Michael joined MMORPG.com as the site's Community Manager.